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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Whenever I talk about what my word count is for the day, my husband always remarks that he doesn't need thousands of words to tell a story. He can do it in a few dozen. While this is true for any writer or story teller; it lacks the essential elements of character development.
Good characters have either changing characteristics or changing motivations. Great characters have both. In "isosceles", the coming of age YA novel by Scott R. Caseley, The author has developed not just one but three great characters through the use of shanging motivations and characteristics.
This triangle of friendship takes the kids from a time in their lives when they have everything in common through points of their development that mold then into not only distinct personalities, but vital roles in the friendship.
Sean, Trey, and Madeline go through the common losses of childhood and adolescence, but they all experience uncommon tragedies that they share. The absence, abandonment, and death of parents. Heartache, heartbreak, and the loss of innocence.
Never has growing up been a more precarious journey than when it is done within their sometimes fractured and unsteady bond of friendship.
This novel pulled me into it. I was angry and frustrated at times. I ached for these kids and wept for their broken childhoods. The brutal nature of their experiences mixed with the horror of the outcome touched me as I read and I felt I knew these kids. The raw and unfettered nature of their language, their lives and their loves was masterfully accomplished as my heart was truly with these people and they lost their role as simply characters in a story.
I got a sneak peek at Caseley's next novel and I can't wait to find out what else he's got for us. To read more about Scott R. Caseley go to

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

In the history of our world there have always been individuals without sight. Historical figures like Helen Keller, Francesco Landini-a 14 th century composer, and Homer-the author of 'The Illiad' and 'The odyssey'. There are multiple references in ancient scripture to beggars who were blind. Not to mention all of us who will never be listed in the History books.
Blindness or visual impairment has existed in a sighted world and the blind have learned to compensate for situations that were not created, nor ideal for them.
Can you imagine a world where 'sight' was the disability? Imagine history and societies being built by the blind. Would all technology be voice activated and audio? Edison would never have made the history books. He would have just been some guy tinkering with wire.
What about exploration? No one would have looked up at the stars and wondered what was out there. Even the exploration of the sea might have taken ten times longer before someone figured out how vast the ocean's really were. Navigation in the beginning was done by the stars.
I have no doubt that the incomnquerable human spirit would have figured it out. The desire to learn and expand is rooted deep within the human heart and a world in darkness would not have stood in the way. Truthfully though, The progress and expansion of our world, both sighted and blind, has been a balance and compromise between our two worlds. The blind benefit from discoveries that were only possible because of the sighted. And the sighted have experienced the best of strength, triumph, and courage thanks to people who did not just try to get along with the way the world was working for the masses.
My experiences as a blind person have brought me the best of both worlds and its the balance between them that completes and enhances my life. It's a beautiful world we live in, sighted or blind, if we can only remember to look at it through the clearest eyes.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Scott Caseley is touring his first novel "Isosceles" throughout March and April and he has included some great information about the story. I will also be reviewing this book later this month so find out about it and I'll let you know what I think in a few weeks. .

The novel takes the reader on a journey through the thirteen-year
friendship between Sean McIntyre and Trey
Goodsby and up to the tragic end of Trey's life, then goes into what effect his
death has on Sean and those closest to the two boys.

When he finds his best friend Trey Goodsby dead and almost
completely submerged in a bathtub filled with bloody water, Sean McIntyre is
determined to find out if it was an accident or suicide. Did his death
accidental or intentional have anything to do with Madeline Edwards, the woman
who came between them constantly through their thirteen-year friendship? The
tale begins with the death of Trey Goodsby, and explores his relationships with
family, friends, his romances, and which of the circumstances he found himself
in that led to the tragic event, and the repercussions for those he left
behind.

If you have
that feeling that you're coming up short...what will it take to feel equal?

While this is Scott's first novel, he wrote and directed a
dramatic feature, co-wrote and directed a documentary and wrote for an online
magazine. He’s also a trained voice, stage, and screen actor. In addition
to his creative pursuits, he is passionate about healthy living. He follows a
mostly self-directed fitness quest consisting of weight training, walking,
swimming, yoga, and hula hooping. When not working out, he also enjoys cooking
healthy gourmet meals as well as playing board games with family and friends
with plenty of coffee brewing to keep the fun going until the wee hours of the
morning.

Monday, March 4, 2013

One of the problems with writing blind is often what I think is on the blog and what I actually post are at times very different. When I originally posted this piece about Eliza Daily it had parts of her e-mail stuck in. I apologize to her and to all of you for all the extra's. This is a great romance, a fun read and worth checking out. Don't let my "blind" ignorance of computers stop you. come meet Eliza.Identity Crisis by Eliza Daly

To celebrate the March 4release of Identity Crisis, Eliza
will be awarding one $20 gift certificate, and two $10 gift certificates, for
either Amazon or Barnes & Noble to three randomly drawn commenters during
her excerpt reveal tour March 4. Please include your e-mail address with your
comment. Winners will be contacted on March 8. Good luck everyone!

When Olivia Doyle’s father
dies under suspicious circumstances, rather than inheriting a family fortune,
she inherits a new identity. She learns they were placed in the Federal Witness
Protection Program when she was five years old. Her father was involved in an
art forgery ring and testified against the mob. Brought up not to trust anyone,
Olivia has a difficult time relying on U.S. Marshal Ethan Ryder to protect her,
and to keep her secret. She fears her father may have continued his life of
crime through her art gallery. She has little choice but to depend on Ethan
when she realizes someone is now after her. Olivia’s search for the truth leads
her and Ethan across country to a family and past she doesn’t remember.

At the age of ten, Ethan
witnessed a brutal murder. He vowed when he grew up, he’d protect people in
danger. Protecting Olivia is difficult when she won’t trust him. He soon
realizes his desire to protect her goes beyond doing his job, but if his
judgment becomes clouded by emotions, her safety could be jeopardized.

Can Ethan and Olivia learn
to trust each other when they uncover secrets that will change their lives
forever?

Father Clifford slipped a
yellowed envelope from the side pocket of his vestment. “Your father gave this
to me many years ago. Asked that I give it to you upon his death.”

She took the envelope from
his hand. The organ music faded and a desolate, eerie stillness fell over the
church, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She tightened the shawl
around her shoulders. She opened the envelope to find a letter and a newspaper
clipping. She started with the letter.

Dear Livvy,

First, know that
I loved you more than anything in this world. That’s why I hope someday you’ll
forgive me for what I’ve done. Telling you the truth while I was alive could
have put your life in danger. Now that I’m gone, I no longer fear for your
safety. They would only have hurt you to get to me.

The only way to
keep us safe was to enter the Witness Protection Program when you were five.
Leaving our friends and family was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I
can’t stand the thought of you now being alone. I hope you’ll go back to our
family, in the town where I grew up, Five Lakes, Wisconsin. I’d like to be laid
to rest there, next to your mother. Please forgive me enough to grant me this
one last wish. If you should ever encounter any problems, contact Roy Howard,
the U.S. Marshal who relocated us, at 415-334-9076. I’m so sorry. Please
believe you were the most important thing to me. You were my life. My Livvy.

Love, Dad

Olivia stood paralyzed, her
mind racing, trying to comprehend the letter. Was this some kind of sick joke?
For the past twenty-four years her dad had lived in fear that somebody would
hurt them? What had forced him to leave behind everyone he’d loved? Everyoneshe’dprobably loved, but obviously couldn’t
remember. And if her mom wasn’t buried in San Francisco, whose grave had Olivia
been visiting here all these years? She tried to hold the letter steady in her
trembling hands. Of course it was vague. Her dad had been a man of few words.
However, these few words expressed a lot of emotion, something he’d never been
good at doing.

“Is everything all right?”
Father Clifford’s voice penetrated her thoughts.

Concern creased the older
man’s brow and from the curiosity filling his gray eyes, he had no clue what the
envelope contained. Her dad hadn’t even trusted a priest with his secret. Her
dad had been the only person she’d ever really trusted, and it turned out she
hadn’t truly known him.

She merely nodded, unable to
find her voice. She inhaled a deep breath. The scent of beeswax candles and
incense did little to calm the panic racing through her veins. She unfolded a
clipping from a Chicago newspaper, dated twenty-four years ago. The headline
readArt Dealer in Bed with Mob Blows Whistle on
Forgery Ring and Vinnie Carlucci. The article included a photo of
police officers escorting her dad. She started reading the article.Prominent Chicago art
dealer Andrew Donovan confesses to having sold more than a hundred forgeries…

Her stomach dropped. She
slapped a hand over her mouth, certain she was about to vomit right there on
the pew.

Her dad had been a criminal.

The nature of his crime made
it all the more surreal.

She stared in disbelief at
the papers in her hand. His name had been Andrew Donovan, not Alex Doyle. Her last
name wasDonovan. Was
her first name actually Olivia? Instead of inheriting a family fortune, she’d
inherited a new identity.

Or rather, an old one.

Eliza Daly’s
first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were
huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at
night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was
Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about
beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade script
writer to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure
and the final destination was well worth it.

When Eliza
isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots
through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing
ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley, Frankie, and Sammy.